Exposed Summit

If ever in the area I highly recommend detouring up to Agency Hill. The mountain itself recently burned in the 2-4-2 Fire but the view from above is amazing. You look down at Crooked Creek, a winding creek in the basin that eventually gets to Agency Lake. Upper Klamath, Shasta, Mountain Lakes caldera, Crater Lake rim, McLoughlin, Pelican. You can see so much. This whole area has a lot to offer. Lots of eye candy! High clearance vehicle recommended. Follow any map straight up to summit. Plenty of area to set up but you may get a little sooty and it can be dusty.

This was a winter activation and I had hoped for a one-way ride on the Pomerelle Triple Chair lift.  After an e-mail and phone inquiry I received no response. I then planned a hike from the Pomerelle parking lot along established roads to the top of the lift and then a very short hike to the summit.

From Hwy 93, turn east at 42.06156, -114.67514. This is near mile marker 5 (5 miles north of the Nevada border/Jackpot). Take an immediate right and then left. Continue east up a well-graded road. The road begins to deteriorate after about a mile into deep ruts. A high clearance vehicle is recommended.

We did this summit as a winter snowmobile trip with Cooper Mtn. and Poison Peak.

See full report here:

http://www.pnwsota.org/blog/wu7h/2022-march-04/cooper-mountain-wa-feb-2022

WW7D and I set out on an adventure to see if we could activate Cooper Mountain via snowmobile. We knew that it was theoretically possible since Cooper Mountain lies on a groomed snowmobile trail. The only intel we had was a 7 day old trail grooming report. We knew from past experience that we might arrive to find the snow park gated or the trail impassible due to downed trees, lack of snow, etc. We decided to roll the dice and make the long journey from the Seattle area to Chelan, WA.

Here is a pavement to trailhead activation if you find yourself in the Columbia River Gorge near White Salmon, WA. A short hike of 1 mile and 700 feet of elevation gain will get you the chance at this 2 pointer. The hike is mostly on a good gravel road and the last bit is easy cross country (for now) as they ran a cat over almost all of it, so not much to push through or step over.

A friend from Eugene wanted to hit Mount McLoughlin in the winter and despite the drive distance from Beaverton, it looked like too beautiful a mountain to pass up. After picking up rental snowshoes from REI in Medford I made it to the Summit Sno-Park TH at sunset. Casey arrived shortly after and we made some quick dinner on our backpacking stoves then turned in for the night. 

This was my second Winter activation attempt of this summit.  The first one ended in an epic fail getting my Jeep stuck in the snow (see picture below).  I had to do a self-recovery with my shovel and winch.  Do not attempt to drive on the groomed "road." Though along the non-winter access road, this is a groomed "trail" for snowmobiles!

Best way to get to and hike Woodrat in my opinion is to take Sterling Creek Rd (several ways to get to Sterling depending on where you are coming from) and eventually turn on Woodrat Mt Rd 38-2-29. There is a sign and the road is paved most of the way. You will come to an intersection on the right where Bishop Cr meets Woodrat, keep going up Woodrat for another 3-4/10ths of a mile and there will be a rutty off road embankment on the left 42.22318,-122.98933. You'll have to find a pullout before or after to park.

We were down in Philomath, OR and decided to check out Marys Peak while we were in the area. I know Marys is thought of as a mostly drive up, but I found a popular hike from lower down on the mountain. The East Ridge trailhead "Connor's Camp" has nice parking and a pit toilet. It is a fee site, so you'll need your forest pass or $5 to fill out a permit.